HIMSS Sponsorship Deepens Our Commitment to Healthcare Industry

chrischristy

HIMSS Sponsorship Deepens Our Commitment to Healthcare Industry

If you're in the healthcare industry or follow it, you’ve probably heard that it’s at an inflection point.

I don't know how long inflection points are supposed to last, but “point” sure makes it sound like a short period of time. Yet the inflection point talk in the industry has been going on for years now — practically everyone in healthcare understands the need for something better.

In the fullness of time, we may be able to look back and see whether this is a true inflection point or simply another growth curve in the industry. Regardless of what we call it, however, the tumultuous transition occurring in health care continues to accelerate, with no end in sight.

The benefits of this frenetic transformational activity include many useful and improved patient technologies that have and will continue to come forth. Out of this fog of transformation, several clear industry strategies have emerged, from sexy cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, to more mundane concerns around security, application uptime SLAs and total cost of ownership.

Cloud future is here

One thing stands out when I contemplate the future of healthcare IT: Whatever developments bring about the much-discussed inflection point, those technologies are going to run in the cloud. We have most assuredly arrived at a period in technology development where a large majority of health care organizations will be better served by utilizing cloud-based technologies.

That’s why Rackspace is a new sponsor of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society annual global conference. Better known as HIMSS, this influential non-profit serves as a “global advisor and thought leader supporting the transformation of health through the application of information and technology.”

Held this year in Orlando, HIMSS 2019 will focus on reoccurring and new global healthcare topics. Education sessions and special events will feature top thought leaders from across the industry. While Rackspace sponsorship is new this year, I have been attending HIMSS for many years, and find it to be valuable and relevant, especially given the current pace of technology. There is simply no better place to learn about what’s new in healthcare IT than the annual HIMSS conference.

Facing unique challenges

Rackspace has been serving healthcare industry customers for many years, but recently we have deepened our commitment to creating solutions to the unique challenges facing the industry. We’ll be at HIMSS showcasing customer success stories that illustrate how cloud transformation can solve challenges like specialized staffing, large up-front capital outlays and heightened security needs.

We’re also there to listen. I’m particularly looking forward to the recently added session by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar, who will be speaking about interoperability and patient engagement, two incredibly important topics. Industry insiders understand that much of the success of value-based care hinges on patient compliance, the “last mile” in healthcare.

The session “Personalize Patient Relationships and Connect Care Journeys with CRM,” is another can’t miss, as it will address how healthcare providers can use technology to enhance the patient experience by leveraging data and preferences. Once a foreign concept to healthcare, connecting with patients both before and after healthcare delivery is now becoming commonplace.

My team and I will also be talking to attendees about their efforts to determine the right combination of on premise and cloud technologies to achieve the best cost-benefit outcomes. HIPAA and HITRUST compliance are baseline requirements for cloud operation and of course, these applications all must work seamlessly for the best patient experience and lowest cost of operation.

And that’s where Rackspace can really offer value. Healthcare organizations of all sizes have depended on Rackspace for the past 20 years, to securely host applications, data and provide the networks to help deliver digital transformation, increased patient engagement, actionable analytics and rationalizing data centers.  We already serve 2,500 customers dedicated to the healthcare community and have the experience, expertise, and technical know-how to guide the industry towards that inflection point.

[We also serve the specific needs of the government healthcare sector. Read more: Security, Compliance Remain Top Concerns for Government Healthcare Providers]

Be sure to stop by Booth 7746 and learn how we can help you migrate to the cloud, or  schedule a one-on-one appointment with me or one or our cloud experts today.